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Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds answers your questions from the @PewterReport X account this week in the Bucs Mailbag. Submit your question to SR each week via X using the hashtag #PRMailbag. Here are the Bucs questions we chose to answer for this week’s edition.

ANSWER: Texas Tech inside linebacker Jacob Rodriguez is my biggest draft crush this year. And no, it’s not that sexy mustache that the Big XII Defensive Player of the Year sports. It’s Rodriguez’s penchant for creating takeaways. He’s an absolute machine in that department, and nobody in college football even comes close to taking away the ball like he does.

Texas Tech ILB Jacob Rodriguez – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nirmalendu Majumdar

Rodriguez is a big play waiting to happen and led college football with seven forced fumbles last year, which tied an FBS record. I got to witness two of them in person when the Red Raiders beat my Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan, Kansas last October. Rodriguez totaled 13 forced fumbles in his Texas Tech career, in addition to recovering six, returning two for touchdowns.

The winner of the 2026 Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Lombardi Award also recorded six interceptions in college, including four last year. He also notched six sacks at Texas Tech and is a capable blitzer. But what I really love is Rodriguez’s consistency. He had 127 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss as a junior and 128 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss as a senior. What you see is what you get with JRod.

Rodriguez was a former quarterback and has a super high football I.Q., tremendous instincts and is a very good athlete. He really opened some eyes at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.57 time in the 40-yard dash and some of the best linebacker times in this year’s agility drills. If the Bucs are looking for another play-making ballhawk at linebacker to replace the legendary Lavonte David, Rodriguez is the guy. I would not hesitate to take him in the first round, either. Maybe not at No. 15, but trading down a few spots and acquiring an extra Day 2 pick to grab him in the 20s.

ANSWER: There is a good chance that the Bucs will have an international game this year. I just kind of feel like it’s going to happen. I’ve been told that Tampa Bay won’t be hosting one overseas in 2026, but they could very well play the role of the visiting team. There are a total of five Bucs opponents this year that will be hosting an international game, so the chances have never been higher.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Dallas will be playing in Rio de Janeiro. New Orleans will be playing in Paris. Atlanta will be playing in Madrid. Detroit will be playing in Munich. That’s four out of Tampa Bay’s eight opponents in 2026. The fact that the Bucs and Lions are both assigned to the Germany territory means that Tampa Bay could very well be tabbed for this game. It certainly makes sense for the NFL to continue to build up the fan bases in Germany for both the Bucs and the Lions by having them play each other in 2026.

The Bucs haven’t had an international game since being the first team to play in – and win in – Munich, beating the Seahawks in 2022. So Tampa Bay is due for an overseas game. Prior to that, the Bucs played in London in 2019 and lost to the Panthers.

One other thing of note. The fact that the Bucs also play the Cowboys and the Lions on the road means that Tampa Bay could be in line to play on Thanksgiving this year. Of course there is always a prime time game on Thanksgiving night now that the Bucs could also host or play in as a guest. So whether it’s an international game or on a holiday game, it feels like Tampa Bay will be a participant in a special NFL game this year.

QUESTION: If the Bucs were to trade down from their current draft position, who are the teams likely to come up? Would that also completely change draft philosophy with stocking extra picks and having something of a luxury pick rather than a first-rounder at No. 15?

ANSWER: The Bucs have the 15th overall pick and that’s right around where Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is projected to go. The New York Jets have the 16th pick and are believed to be very interested in Simpson. There are some quarterback-needy teams like Pittsburgh, which has the No. 21 overall pick, and Cleveland, which picks at No. 24, that might want to move up to draft Simpson.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and GM Jason Licht – Photo courtesy of the Buccaneers

That would afford the Bucs the chance to move down a few spots and pick up an extra pick, likely a third-rounder – or perhaps a second rounder or a third- and a fourth-rounder if Jason Licht gets multiple suitors and wants to drive a hard bargain. Licht would have to weigh the possible benefits of acquiring an additional draft pick or two versus sticking and picking a player at No. 15 in a draft without much real first-round talent.

In order for Licht to trade down a few spots, there would have to be multiple draft targets he and the team would have to be interested in drafting later in the first round. Otherwise it doesn’t make sense to trade down. But the real value in this year’s draft is on Day 2 where there is little difference between second- and third-round talent.

QUESTION: Scott, you have said the pewter uniforms will return next season. I’m thrilled! However, do you know if they will be modified at all? New helmet? New pants? New numbers?

ANSWER: I was told by a reliable source that the Bucs would be wearing their all-pewter uniforms again this season. The team took a break from the pewter jerseys that debuted in 2020, and haven’t worn them since the 2023 season on the road in Indianapolis.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: USA Today

The reason is that the creamsicle uniforms returned in 2023 and became more of a hit – and a bigger seller – with fans. Last year, the Bucs also brought back their all-white 1976 uniforms to wear with the Bucco Bruce helmet. Those became even more popular, especially with the team going 2-0 in those uniforms last year.

I don’t know if the exact same pewter jerseys will return next year or if there will be some modifications. Perhaps they will wear the pewter jerseys with white pants, as the team did last year with the red jersey-white pants combo.

I’ve been told that the pewter jerseys could be worn in the preseason or as a road alternate. We’ll see what winds up happening once the 2026 schedule gets released. But we at Pewter Report like the pewter jerseys for obvious reasons and welcome their return.

QUESTION: SR, can you actually handle another decade of darkness?

ANSWER: Could I take another decade of darkness in Tampa Bay? Yes. I pride myself to be a mentally tough dude. Plus my liquor cabinet is usually fully stocked. Hopefully that doesn’t happen though as that stretch of Bucs football from 2009-2019 wasn’t fun for anyone to watch. And it certainly wasn’t fun for me to cover. Last year’s terrible 2-7 finish following a promising 6-2 start reminded me – and probably you – of some of those really bad Bucs teams from yesteryear.

Former Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel and Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Nathan Ray Seebeck

There was a lot of awful football during that span, including 10 straight losses to end the Raheem Morris era and eight straight defeats to start Greg Schiano’s final 4-12 season in 2013. Not to mention the entire Lovie Smith debacle in Tampa Bay. Man, was Smith an absolutely awful hire, going just 2-14 in 2014 and 6-10 the next year.

To avoid another decade of darkness, the Bucs will need to hit a home run in the draft, especially on defense. And we’ll see if Todd Bowles and his revamped coaching staff can coach better this season. I revealed five players that the Bucs need to avoid drafting this year in a new Pewter Pulse video. Check it out by clicking below.